The Bar Hop is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the fifth obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 8 in Oklahoma City. Competitors would have to:
- Jump to a mini-tramp to reach a bar resting in a cradle,
- Transit the bar from one cradle to another, which was 3 feet in distance,
- Then, they will use a waiting bar to transition to another bar, which was 2 feet in distance in a cradle,
- Transit the bar to the next cradle, and made the dismount, which was 5 feet away from the landing platform.
The dismount was made tricky, because if the competitors didn't swing enough, they would miss the landing platform or touch the water, but if they swung too much, the bar would slide out of the cradle.
Also, several competitors failed on this obstacle, because their grip gave out, as they couldn't hang on when the bar spun after hopping. During Oklahoma City qualifiers, 16 out of 25 competitors who attempted it, could complete it (however, Brent Steffensen failed on this obstacle).
During Oklahoma City finals, the gap between both sets of cradles were made bigger, raising the difficulty. As the result, six competitors failed on this obstacle. This obstacle was also notable for eliminating David Campbell (when his foot touched the water while dismounting), making it the first time since American Ninja Warrior 1, that he didn't advance to Las Vegas national finals/Mount Midoriyama finals.
The Bar Hop returned as the fifth obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 9 in Kansas City. This time, the entire obstacle was gradually ascended.
It was nearly as difficult as in Oklahoma City, taking out competitors such as Kyle Mendoza (who failed on this obstacle during Oklahoma City finals) and Mitch VeDepo (who failed on this obstacle during Oklahoma City qualifiers).
During Kansas City qualifiers, a total of 12 competitors completed the obstacle, out of 25 competitors who attempted it.
Competitors' Success Rate
- All results based on the NBC broadcast and external information found
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
ANW8 (qualifiers) | 16 | 25 | 64% |
ANW8 (finals) | 16 | 22 | 72.72% |
ANW9 (qualifiers) | 12 | 25 | 48% |
ANW9 (finals) | 14 | 21 | 66.67% |
Total | 58 | 93 | 62.36% |
Trivia
- The inspiration for this obstacle came from the Flying Bar, Pipe Slider, and a circus trapeze.
- During American Ninja Warrior 9's Kansas City finals, the Bar Hop became the cut off for advancing to Las Vegas national finals, due to the difficulty of the obstacle itself, combined with the Broken Pipes, Crank It Up, and Floating Monkey Bars. This became only the third time, competitors who didn't reach the back half of the city finals course (i.e. the obstacles after the Warped Wall), still advanced to Las Vegas national finals, with the others being in Northeast region finals on American Ninja Warrior 4, and Venice Beach finals on American Ninja Warrior 7.